News that Bao Zhuoxuan, the 16-year-old son of detained rights lawyer Wang Yu, had gone missing in Myanmar has been hyped by the Western media in recent days. Local police in Yunnan Province told the Global Times that two men played tricks to win Bao’s trust and smuggled him into the chaotic region of northern Myanmar. The teenager’s guardians opposed his studying abroad.

The police presented us with testimony from the guardians. Bao is still under age, and legally he has no capacity to make important decisions. The police also said that Bao is innocent although his parents are suspected criminals. As long as his guardians permit, he could go abroad for study through proper channels. Bao now is being taken care of by his guardians in Inner Mongolia, and has been enrolled into a local school. The Western media claimed that Bao’s legitimate rights had been severely invaded, including being threatened and harassed. The police flatly denied such accusations.

[…] Why did overseas forces hastily smuggle Bao to the turbulent region of northern Myanmar shortly after his parents were arrested? Would those who really care for the teenager throw him in such danger? The only explanation is that this was a plot by external forces, who forcibly drew a minor into the vortex of politics and used the case to vilify China’s rule of law. What an emotional story that a teenager, after his parents were arrested, fled to the free world of the West by the way of a war-torn region with the aid of “democratic activists.”

[…] Bao’s case sends us a warning that some external forces are expecting each moment to make an issue of China’s rule of law. They even fabricate the dark side. The Chinese police should handle cases strictly in accordance with the law. If Western forces wage public opinion attacks by publishing false stories, we should be able to clarify the facts in short order. [Source]

His mother was quoted in the article as telling police she was not aware of the smuggling plan and that she was against it. “I will draw a clear line between myself and the people who plotted this. I can settle my own business,” she was quoted as saying.

[…] San Francisco-based activist Zhou Fengsuo, who was waiting for Bao in Thailand to help with his asylum application to the US, cast doubt on the state-run media report. “We shouldn’t forget that Wang is not free at the moment and she hasn’t been allowed to see her lawyers after her arrest,” Zhou told the South China Morning Post.

“I think the best choice would be to give him [Bao] his passport and let him make his own choice,” Zhou said.

He added that Bao had repeatedly said he wanted to study in the US. Zhou’s concerns were echoed by Li Yuhan, Wang Yu’s attorney, who has made repeated attempts to visit his client over the past two months, but with no success.

“I don’t believe the report. Wang Yu has been completely cut off from the outside world,” Li said. Tianjin police have said they were handling Wang’s case, but have refused to reveal her whereabouts or allow lawyers to see her, Li said. […] [Source]